Delegation Advocates for Greater Lexington’s Federal Priorities During Washington, D.C. Fly-In

​Last week, 40 regional business and community leaders traveled to the nation’s capital for the annual Washington, D.C. Fly-In presented by Columbia Gas of Kentucky to act as policy ambassadors for the nine-county Bluegrass Region. During the July 9-11 visit, leaders from Greater LEX met with members of Kentucky’s Congressional Delegation and staff about priority issues to enhance regional competitiveness and policies that support the ongoing Regional Competitiveness Plan. 
 
Greater Lex leaders engaged with U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senator Rand Paul, U.S. Representative Andy Barr (KY-6), U.S. Representative James Comer (KY-1), U.S. Representative Brett Guthrie (KY-2), and U.S. Representative Morgan McGarvey (KY-3).  Karen Kelly, chief of staff for U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers, briefed the group on behalf of the Congressman who was finalizing House appropriation bills.  Given the leadership roles and key committee assignments (appropriations, energy and commerce, financial services, government oversight and transportation), Kentucky’s Congressional delegation is positioned to be highly influential and effective for Central Kentucky interests.  

​One of the seven key action items of the Regional Competitiveness Plan is elevating the region’s advocacy efforts to increase state and federal investments for infrastructure and economic development needs, and policy changes that improve the business climate. The annual Washington D.C. Fly-In is an important advocacy event aimed at highlighting the needs of the region to Congressional leaders and agency officials.  Some of the priority policy advocacy issues discussed during this year’s visit included the impact of inflation on the economy, need for investment in regional transportation projects, immigration reform to support workforce, support for the Bluegrass Army Depot, and the negative impact of federal agency overreach and regulatory uncertainty on all sectors of the economy. 
 
The federal regulatory climate was a hot topic on Capitol Hill considering the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Chevron deference decision.  Several members of Kentucky’s delegation mentioned the impact of the decision on the business community.  The nation’s highest court overturned the decades-old Chevron doctrine, which since 1984 has had courts deferring to regulatory interpretation of statutes when such statutes were ambiguous.  Business leaders view the ruling as an important course correction that will lead to more reasonable and consistent regulations across energy, healthcare, broadband, banking, environmental and transportation.  Moving forward, regulatory actions must have clear authority from Congress, or they are likely to face legal challenges.  Businesses cannot effectively plan when federal agencies are free to unilaterally change the basic rules at any time or create unreasonable standards out of balance with technological innovation.  Unfair or costly regulations also add to the costs of goods and services for businesses and consumers.  

​A top priority for this year’s Fly-In was advocating for infrastructure investments to support increasing shovel-ready sites for jobs in the region and learning how the region can more successfully leverage federal grant opportunities to support regional initiatives. During the visit, a group of local officials representing Fayette, Madison and Scott Counties and business representatives met with White House officials about opportunities to support infrastructure funding for a regional business park in Scott County. 
 
In addition, participants engaged with policy experts to learn how Lexington and the region can more effectively navigate federal funding opportunities.  Will Smith and Lizzie Imber, principals with Cornerstone Government Affairs, briefed the group on the appropriations and grant funding processes.  The group also heard from the Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, about national housing trends and Jonathan Miller and James Carroll with Frost Brown Todd LLP about the impact of upcoming elections on the make-up of Congress and policy decisions.  
 
Attendees on the trip are diverse and represent various sectors of the regional economy such as government, banking, health care, non-profit, education, manufacturing, energy, and professional services.  The D.C. Fly-In is organized by Commerce Lexington with assistance from the Greater LEX Policy Group in formulating the federal policy issue agenda.  The Greater Lex Policy Group includes business, community, and government leaders within the nine-county region of Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison, Montgomery, Scott, and Woodford counties. 
 
A detailed agenda for the Fly-In and the regional policy priorities are posted ON-LINE HERE.